LA-WEATHER United States Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, Louisiana Field Office Crop Weather Cooperating with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture Louisiana Field Office · 5825 Florida Blvd · Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (225) 922-1362 · (225) 922-0744 FAX www.nass.usda.gov/la Released: April 16, 2007 Volume 07 No. 07 Days suitable for fieldwork: 3.7 Soil moisture supplies: 3% very short, 13% short, 63% adequate and 21% surplus Field Crops Report The unseasonably cooler temperatures caused some producers to be concerned about crop damage across the state. The state averaged 1.53 inches of rain last week but was still 5 inches below the state average. Field activity was slow last week due to the rain and cooler weather conditions. Corn planting moved closer to completion as corn emerged reached 87 percent. Corn condition declined due to the cooler weather. Rice producers continued planting and began applying fertilizers and herbicides. Sorghum planting progressed to 47 percent. Cotton and soybean producers continued preparing fields for planting, anticipating warmer weather before planting begins. Sugarcane crop condition showed some improvement from last week. Fruits, Vegetables and Specialty Crops Vegetable producers continued planting and irrigating field crops. Some producers were selling strawberries and beets. Crawfish catches continued to be good, but prices were dropping. Some crawfish producers were beginning to drain ponds. Livestock, Pasture and Range Report The cooler weather brought relief to cattlemen. Pasture conditions showed improvement due to the recent rain. Cattlemen continued cutting hay. Cattlemen were also busy with spring calving, as well as culling cows and marketing calves. Crop Progress Table PERCENT OF PROGRESS Last CROP STAGE 2007 Week 2006 5 YR AVG Corn Planted 96 92 95 94 Emerged 87 76 82 72 Hay First Cutting 6 2 8 4 Rice Planted 61 51 72 68 Emerged 40 26 51 49 Sorghum Planted 47 39 41 25 Wheat Headed 90 71 89 69 Land Preparation Spring plowing 82 78 83 79 Crop Condition Table CONDITIONS IN PERCENTAGES CROP VERY POOR POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Corn 0 14 38 48 0 Sugarcane 2 10 48 35 5 Wheat 0 4 40 54 2 Livestock 0 6 34 56 4 Vegetables 1 11 39 45 4 Pasture 1 7 46 43 3 Weather Information Table LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STATE CLIMATOLOGY, LSU, BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA LOUISIANA WEATHER SUMMARY FROM 04/09/07 TO 04/15/07 AIR PRECIPITATION 4 INCH SOIL TEMPERATURE WEEKLY FOUR YR.TO TEMPERATURE MAX MIN AVE NRM TOTAL WEEKS DATE NORM MAX MIN AVE 1. Northwest LSU-Bossier City 78 37 55 63 0.73 1.15 11.51 15.95 Minden 76 36 55 62 2.20 3.12 14.24 17.48 Mooringsport 75 37 55 MM 1.44 4.88 16.77 14.66 Extreme/Average 78 36 55 64 1.46 3.05 14.17 16.27 2. North-Central LSU-Calhoun 76 36 56 63 2.38 2.87 13.14 18.72 Homer/Hill Farm 76 38 55 62 2.81 3.64 15.76 17.76 ULM-Monroe 79 35 54 63 2.34 3.25 11.46 19.71 Winnfield MM MM MM 63 M.MM M.MM 6.37 18.91 Extreme/Average 79 35 55 64 2.51 3.25 13.45 18.69 3. Northeast Lake Providence 78 38 57 63 2.37 2.94 11.84 20.46 LSU-St Joseph 81 39 59 64 0.48 2.65 13.78 20.31 LSU-Winnsboro 82 42 59 63 1.10 3.99 13.23 19.60 Tallulah 77 42 57 63 0.64 2.05 10.55 20.18 Extreme/Average 82 38 57 64 1.16 2.55 12.06 20.06 4. West-Central Leesville 80 39 58 64 1.42 3.87 12.78 17.81 LSU-Rosepine 82 37 59 64 1.08 3.93 15.80 17.64 Natchitoches 77 36 57 64 2.18 2.88 11.26 17.64 Extreme/Average 82 36 58 64 1.56 3.56 13.28 17.60 5. Central Alexandria 81 37 60 65 1.10 3.45 15.76 19.25 Brusly 83 38 60 65 1.27 2.10 13.90 19.81 Bunkie 82 38 61 65 1.24 4.87 14.76 19.85 LSU-Alexandria 81 41 61 65 1.10 3.04 12.98 18.38 Extreme/Average 83 37 61 66 1.18 3.37 13.88 19.19 6. East-Central Bogalusa 83 34 60 65 1.68 2.40 12.55 21.18 LSU-Baton Rouge 83 39 63 66 1.47 2.28 13.13 18.53 LSU-Clinton 79 (29) 56 64 1.18 2.75 12.58 20.40 LSU-Hammond 82 38 61 65 2.05 2.93 12.06 20.74 Slidell 81 38 61 66 1.60 2.78 13.06 19.76 Extreme/Average 83 29 60 66 1.60 2.63 12.70 20.47 7. Southwest De Ridder 82 37 60 65 0.87 4.44 17.08 18.28 Jennings 81 38 61 66 1.54 3.22 15.51 16.35 LSU-Crowley 80 40 61 67 2.01 3.14 15.37 16.89 Extreme/Average 82 37 61 67 1.47 3.79 16.23 16.45 8. South-Central Donaldsonville 83 39 62 66 1.72 3.03 12.33 18.34 LSU-Jeanerette 82 34 62 66 2.44 3.18 14.00 16.22 Morgan City 81 38 62 67 1.49 2.33 11.78 16.97 Extreme/Average 83 34 62 67 1.88 2.85 12.70 17.11 9. Southeast Galliano 82 41 64 67 0.92 1.02 9.94 18.18 Houma 81 39 63 67 1.69 2.34 12.50 17.18 NO Audubon Park (84) 42 65 68 0.67 0.91 8.06 18.01 Reserve 82 45 62 66 0.82 1.48 12.17 20.11 Extreme/Average 84 39 64 68 1.09 1.42 10.17 18.64 State State Averages 84 29 59 66 1.53 2.97 13.32 18.33 M = Missing ( ) = Extremes Yr. To Date = Through April 15, 2007